Eastern dwarf mistletoe
Arceuthobium pusillum

• Witches’ brooms, a clump of small weak branches arising from one point on a larger branch, form in infected trees
• Needles within the witches’ broom remain green, needles on the rest of the tree yellow and fall off, typically from the top of the tree down
• Short (1/2 to 1 inch) brown to orange dwarf mistletoe stalks can be seen during the growing season but fall off after seed dispersal in August or September; this occurs only after 4 to 5 years of infection
• Common only on tamarack near infected black spruce in northern Minnesota
• More information on Eastern dwarf mistletoe